What is worthless waste for some can be valuable material for others after recycling. The largest digital marketplace on the continent benefits from this approach of companies, where a successful Czech company connects 14,000 companies, including those such as Škoda Auto, Ikea, Siemens and Lidl. Simply put, they submit ads.
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“It’s such a ‘dating site’ for waste,” laughs Cyrkl founder and boss Cyril Klepek. “Materials are growing from, say, 45 percent for construction ones to hundreds of percent for metals, and plastics for a hundred percent year-on-year. Waste is a material that can continue to serve somewhere and return to circulation, “explains the head of the platform why such a shift pays off for companies.
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Save. Money and CO2
And as an example, he cites the waste of the retail chain, leaving unnecessary transparencies. The recycler buys them from him through the marketplace in the auction system, recycles them and returns them to the marketplace. The company that fits will buy the film in a new form.
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“We are really talking about significant price savings. The company can save 15 to 45 percent of its annual costs in this circular waste management. For example, we had one cable company in Prague, where the savings were about 25 million crowns a year, “he calculates in an interview for SZ Byznys.
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Last year alone, material worth 32 million euros “flowed” through the marketplace, and this year it will be 200 million euros, according to the founder.
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According to him, the way we mine, process and transport materials is globally responsible for 50 to 70 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
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Circular economy or circular economy
- The basic idea is to minimize the generation of waste, and when waste is generated, it is transformed and put back into circulation.
- The opposite is a linear economy, which is built on the principle of extracting raw materials, making products from them, distributing them to customers.
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“If we move to a circular economy, if we prevent waste, we can do quite a bit for the planet. We have historically saved companies about one and a half million tons of CO2 by recycling them. Cyrkl is responsible for about 160,000 tons of waste that would otherwise end up in landfills, “he explains.
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Thanks to the extremely positive impact of his business activities on the planet, Cyrkl made it into the last ten companies of the ongoing SME EnterPRIZE competition, in which Generali insurance company awards sustainable businesses.
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From unwanted valuable goods
Two to three years ago, the problem of recycling in the digital marketplace was, today, at a time of rising inflation, supply chain difficulties and material shortages, on the contrary, the problem of obtaining them is growing.
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European legislation also contributes to this, requiring, for example, to produce PET bottles in the EU by 2025 with at least 25 percent recycled material in each bottle. By 2030, the mandatory share will increase to 30 percent.
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“A really large number of companies today are in great demand for recycled materials because they just need to produce. At a time when companies will report how much CO2 they have saved, it really helps the circular economy and resource management, ”says Cyril Klepek.
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Growth by thousands of percent from the beginning
The startup, founded by Cyril Klepek, grew by 350 percent for two consecutive years. Before that by 750 percent. Deloitte named it the second fastest growing company in its category and size in Central Europe in the Growth Stars category.
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Cyril Klepek
- He is a long-term expert in innovation and the circular economy. He graduated from the University of Economics in Economics and Economic Policy, where he continued his doctoral studies.
- During this period, he was also in charge of innovation at Raiffeisenbank and the creation of Raiffeisen Advisory. He was an innovation leader in the Direct People agency and is the editor-in-chief of Circular Czech 1-3 publications.
- He won the Global Digital Disruption award from Globant and was included in the selection of top innovators for 2020 from Hospodářské noviny and Czechcrunch.
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“Cyrkl came up with the idea of linking supply and demand in waste management, and thus turning waste into new resources. Their digital waste marketplace is without exaggeration a revolution in its field. The magic of the whole system lies in the combination of know-how, data and technologies now completely developed in-house, “says Kateřina Novotná, Deloitte Tax Director, responsible for the Technology Fast 50 program, which recognizes the fastest growing technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe. .
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According to her, Cyrkl has the potential to become a world leader in its field.
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